Berberis plant named &#39;Orange Torch&#39;

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct cultivar of  Berberis  plant named ‘Orange Torch’, characterized by spring foliage color of medium yellow and yellow-green tinted with red-orange, bright red young stem color; and moderately vigorous, compact, narrowly-upright growth habit, is disclosed.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/230,909 filed Jun. 18, 2015.

LATIN NAME OF GENUS AND SPECIES OF PLANT CLAIMED

Berberis thunbergii

VARIETY DENOMINATION

‘Orange Torch’

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Berberis plant botanically known as Berberis thunbergii and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Orange Torch’.

The new Berberis cultivar is a naturally-occurring sport of GOLDEN TORCH ‘Torchd'or’, not patented, characterized by its yellow and yellow-green colored foliage typically having pink-red tips in autumn, and moderately vigorous, compact, narrowly-upright growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered as a side shoot and selected during July 2007 in a controlled environment in La Menitre, Maine et Loire, France.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since July 2007 in La Menitre, Maine et Loire, France and Mount Angel, Oreg. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following characteristics of the new cultivar have been repeatedly observed and can be used to distinguish ‘Orange Torch’ as a new and distinct cultivar of Berberis plant:

1. Spring foliage color of medium yellow and yellow-green tinted with red-orange;

2. Bright red young stem color; and

3. Moderately vigorous, compact, narrowly-upright growth habit.

Plants of the new cultivar differ from plants of the parent primarily in foliage color.

Of the many commercially available Berberis cultivars, the most similar in comparison to the new cultivar is ‘Orange Rocket’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,411. However, in side by side comparisons, plants of the new cultivar differ from plants of ‘Orange Rocket’ in at least the following characteristics:

1. Plants of the new cultivar have spring and summer foliage colors different from plants of ‘Orange Rocket’; and

2. Plants of the new cultivar are more vigorous than plants of ‘Orange Rocket’.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs show, as nearly true as it is reasonably possible to make the same in color illustrations of this type, typical foliage characteristics of the new cultivar. Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed description, which accurately describes the colors of ‘Orange Torch’. The plants are approximately one-year old and were grown for three months in a greenhouse in West Chicago, Ill.

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of the overall growth and habit of ‘Orange Torch’.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The new cultivar has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions to date. Accordingly, it is possible that the phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in the environment, such as temperature, light intensity, and day length, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The chart used in the identification of colors described herein is The R.H.S. Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society, London, England, 2007 edition, except where general color terms of ordinary significance are used. The color values were determined in September 2015 under natural light conditions in West Chicago, Ill.

The following descriptions and measurements describe approximately one-year old plants produced from cuttings from stock plants and grown under conditions comparable to those used in commercial practice. Plants were pinched when transplanted into a soilless growth medium in 4.5 inch containers in a West Chicago, Ill. glass-covered greenhouse. Greenhouse temperatures were maintained at approximately 70° F. to 75° F. (21° C. to 24° C.) during the day and approximately 58° F. to 62° F. (14° C. to 17° C.) during the night. No supplemental lighting was provided. Measurements and numerical values represent averages of typical plants.

-   Botanical classification: Berberis thunbergii cultivar Orange Torch. -   Parentage:     -   -   Parent.—GOLDEN TORCH ‘Torchd'or’, not patented. -   Propagation:     -   -   Type.—Softwood stem cuttings.         -   Time to initiate roots.—Approximately 70 days.         -   Time to produce a rooted cutting.—Approximately one year.         -   Root description.—Fine to medium; somewhat fleshy and             fibrous; yellow to light brown in color.         -   Rooting habit.—Freely branching; moderate density. -   Plant description:     -   -   Commercial crop time.—Approximately 24 months from a rooted             cutting to finish in a 15 cm pot.         -   Plant type.—Deciduous shrub.         -   Growth habit and general appearance.—Moderately vigorous,             compact, narrowly-upright growth habit.         -   Cold hardiness.—At least in U.S.D.A. Zone 4.         -   Size.—Height: Approximately 26.0 cm. Width: Approximately             21.0 cm.         -   Branching habit.—Freely branching, pinching enhances basal             branching. Quantity of main lateral branches per plant:             Approximately 5.         -   Branch.—Strength: Strong. Length: Approximately 23.0 cm.             Diameter: Approximately 2.0 mm. Length of central internode:             Approximately 1.3 cm. Texture: Deeply grooved. Color of             young stems: 144B with and overlay of 185A. Color of mature             stems: 144A with an overlay of 187A, becoming N199D with             age. -   Foliage description:     -   -   General description.—Quantity of leaves per main branch:             Approximately 56 in 14 clusters. Fragrance: None detected.             Form: Simple. Arrangement: Alternate, clustered in whorls of             four.         -   Leaves.—Shape: Obovate to spatulate. Margin: Entire. Apex:             Rounded to broadly acute. Base: Attenuate, sessile. Venation             pattern: Pinnate. Length of mature leaf: Approximately             3.5 cm. Width of mature leaf: Approximately 1.8 cm. Texture             of upper and lower surfaces: Glabrous. Color of upper             surface of developing leaves: 144B with an overlay of 185A;             in spring 1C with an overlay of 34A to 34D. Color of lower             surface of developing leaves: Closest to 191B; in spring 1C             with an overlay of 34A to 34D. Color of upper surface of             fully-expanded leaves: 137B with an overlay of 187A,             venation 137B and 187A; in spring 1C and 145A with an             overlay of 34A to 34D. Color of lower surface of fully             expanded leaves: Closest to 191B with midvein of 147D; in             spring 1C and 145A with an overlay of 34A to 34D.         -   Spine.—Length: Approximately 7.0 mm. Diameter: Less than             1.0 mm. Texture: Glabrous. Color: Close to 164A with tips of             203A. -   Flowering description: Flowers for this species are observed     typically for about two weeks in the spring on second-year growth     and are ornamentally insignificant. Flowers were not observed on     trial material. -   Seed and fruit production: Neither seed nor fruit production has     been observed. -   Disease and pest resistance: Resistance to pathogens and pests     common to Berberis has not been observed. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Berberis plant named ‘Orange Torch’, substantially as herein illustrated and described. 